Swedish divorce rates hit record high

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Love hurts for more and more Swedes with over 25,000 couples calling an end to their union in 2013, the highest figure in almost 40 years.

A total of 25,100 marriages ended in divorce last year according to figures released by Statistics Sweden (Statistika centralbyrån) which is the highest figure since 1975.

The length of marriages varied from county to county with the average union which ended in divorce in Stockholm county lasting ten years.

By contrast, lovers who lived in the Halland and Jämtland counties toughed it out a bit longer. Marriages in those counties which ended in divorce in 2013 lasted on average 13 years.

The most common marriage year for those who called it quits in 2013 were those who tied the knot in 2009 followed by 2010 and 2008. More than 100 couples who tied the knot in 2013 were divorced by the end of the same year.

According to the report, marriages which ended in divorce lasted longer when both were born in Sweden (13 years) compared to when both were born abroad in different countries (seven years).

Marriages between a native Swede and a foreigner lasted on average nine and a half years before divorce in 2013.

If the couple were both born outside Sweden, but in the same country, then the union lasted around 11 years before the parting.

On average the number of divorces is between 20,000 - 25,000 each year over the past 30 years. The number peaked between 1974 and 1975 when the law was changed to speed up the divorce process.

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Over 54,000 marriages in total ended in 2013 through divorce and death with the average length of the marriage being 24 years. A total of 28,800 marriages were dissolved following the death of a partner.

Marriages which came to an end when a partner died lasted on average 47 years. More than 200 marriages which ended when a partner died in 2013 happened after the couple had been together for 70 years or longer.